Islamabad, March 24 (IANS) Pakistan continues to grapple with the aftermath of the 2022 floods, with 14,343 schools out of over 19,500 schools damaged across Sindh still awaiting restoration, according to local media reports.
During a review meeting on school reconstruction and rehabilitation with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah informed that 19,808 schools across Sindh were damaged during the 2022 floods.
Among the affected institutions, 5,465 schools have been selected for reconstruction and rehabilitation — 2,268 fully damaged and 3,197 partially damaged institutions — leaving 14,343 schools still awaiting restoration, the Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
The CM stated that reconstruction efforts under multi-funded programmes aimed at restoring educational facilities for 1.4 million students.
Citing official data, Dawn reported major reconstruction schemes covering 5,369 schools cost Pakistani Rs 167 billion, of which Rs 63.95 billion has already been spent, while 2,114 schools have been completed through various funding arrangements.
As Murad reviewed division-wise data on flood-damaged schools, he was also informed that Hyderabad Division recorded the highest number of affected institutions with 1,254 schools, followed by Larkana Division with 1,218, Sukkur Division with 1,070, Shaheed Benazirabad Division with 894, Mirpurkhas Division with 724 and Karachi Division with 305.
At the district level, Khairpur was the worst affected with 730 schools, followed by Naushehro Feroze with 494, Larkana with 343, Kambar-Shahdadkot with 294, Mirpurkhas with 277, and Umerkot with 238.
Last month, a government report revealed that 26.2 million children in Pakistan still remain out of school.
Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training released the ‘Girls’ Education Statistics and Trends Report 2023-24′, which revealed the number of children who remain out of school, Dawn had reported.
According to the report, 26.2 million children remain out of school, including 3.4 million girls. The report also revealed the funding issues, stressing that Pakistan’s education financing had weakened, with the national education share reducing from 13 per cent to 11 per cent and the majority of provinces reducing funding, especially Punjab and Sindh.
–IANS
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